Running board storage device

ABSTRACT

A running board storage device being mounted in conjunction with a land vehicle where the running board storage device can be used as a step to facilitate entry and exit through an access door of the vehicle. The storage device may include a drawer which is movable between a retracted position where access into the drawer is prevented and an extended position where access into the drawer is permitted. Also, the storage device could have an entry door arrangement where an upper door and a lower door open simultaneously in a “clamshell” opening arrangement. The storage compartment of the running board can be divided into an upper section and a lower section with elongated members such as skis, pipes and the like being capable of being stored in the upper section. The lower section may optionally include one or more drawers.

REFERENCE TO PRIOR APPLICATION

This application is a Divisional of U.S. patent application Ser. No.09/377,548, filed Aug. 19, 1999, now U.S. Pat. No. 6,270,099 by the sametitle and same inventor.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The field of this invention relates to storage devices and moreparticularly to a storage device that is included within a running boardof a land vehicle thereby providing a storage compartment whichheretofore did not exist.

2. Description of the Prior Art

Personal land vehicles can be characterized as automobiles, pickuptrucks, sport utility vehicles and recreational vehicles. Automobiles,at the present time, do not include a running board. A running boardgenerally constitutes no more than a step that is located just below theaccess door or doors on each side of the land vehicle which can beutilized by humans when entering and exiting the land vehicle whichprovides for an intermediate location for a user to place one's feetprior to entering the land vehicle after stepping off the ground andwhen exiting the land vehicle prior to stepping onto the ground. Mostpickup trucks, sport utility vehicles and recreational vehicles areraised some distance off the ground. Therefore, for a human to enter orexit the land vehicle requires an initial step of a distance ofapproximately eighteen inches. This is a significant large step to takefor most people and it is for that reason that running boards areutilized to break up that eighteen inch distance to be no greater thanabout twelve inches.

In connection with pickup trucks and sport utility vehicles, it isnormally desirable to include as much storage space as possible. Storagespace is always desirable for the storing of tools in connection withone's job, or elongated members such as commonly used in conjunctionwith certain sports, such as skis for skiing. Normally, a running boardis designed to be constructed of metal, fiberglass or plastic andfunction only as a step. However, in the past it has been known toincorporate some type of a storage container in conjunction with therunning board thereby obtaining of additional storage in conjunctionwith the land vehicle that heretofore was not possible. However, in thepast, such storage container running boards have not been attractivelydesigned nor constructed in a manner that facilitates maximum usage ofthe storage ability. Also, such prior art storage devices have beendesigned to be rather complex by altering chassis itself whichinherently increases cost of manufacture and thereby makes a runningboard storage device relatively expensive.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The storage device could be in the form of a drawer with the uppersurface of the drawer functioning as a step of the running board. Thedrawer is to be movable relative to a drawer housing that is fixedlysecured to the body of the vehicle so the drawer can be moved from aretracted position to an extended position with access within the drawerbeing provided. Also, the storage compartment could comprise a“clamshell” opening door arrangement. Included within the storage deviceare a series of cantilevered rods which divides the storage compartmentinto an upper section and a lower section. It is designed for the uppersection to be used to support elongated members such as skis, pipes andother similar types of elongated members, with the lower section to beused to support smaller sized storable items such as tools. A series ofdrawers may also be mounted within the lower section.

The primary objective of the present invention is to construct a runningboard for a land vehicle where the running board includes a storagecompartment thereby utilizing previously unused space for storage ofarticles.

Another objective of the present invention is to construct a runningboard storage device which can open to an extremely wide configurationthereby facilitating entrance into the storage compartment.

Another objective of, the present invention is to construct a runningboard storage device where drawers can be included within the storagedevice facilitating the storage of small sized articles.

Another objective of the present invention is to construct a runningboard storage device which can be securely locked preventingunauthorized access into the storage compartment.

Another objective of the present invention is to construct a runningboard storage device which could be constructed of a lightweight metal,fiberglass or plastic.

Another objective of the present invention is to construct a runningboard storage device to be mounted in a position partially under thebody of the vehicle thereby using normally unused space in conjunctionwith the vehicle.

Another objective of the present invention is to construct a runningboard storage device which can be installed as an after market accessorywhich can be easily bolted to the body of the vehicle not requiring anyexterior body alteration or repair.

Another objective of the present invention is to allow for easy accessto a pick-up truck bed when entering from the side of the truck.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is an isometric view of a pair of running boards storage devicesof the first embodiment of this invention depicted as being mounted inconjunction with a typical land vehicle shown in phantom;

FIG. 2 is a front view of the first embodiment of running board storagedevice of this invention showing a portion of the body of the landvehicle to which the running board storage device is attached;

FIG. 3 is a longitudinal cross-sectional view through the running boardstorage device of this invention taken along line 3—3 of FIG. 2 showingthe.running board storage device in the closed and latched position;

FIG. 4 is a view similar to FIG. 3 showing the latching mechanism in theunlatched position with the storage device still being maintained in theclosed position;

FIG. 5 is a transverse cross-sectional view through the first embodimentof running board storage device of this invention taken along line 5—5of FIG. 2;

FIG. 6 is a longitudinal cross-section view through the first embodimentof running board storage device of this invention taken along line 6—6of FIG. 5;

FIG. 7 is a view similar to FIG. 5 showing the “clamshell” doors of thestorage device in the open position;

FIG. 8 is a longitudinal cross-sectional view of the first embodiment ofrunning board storage device of this invention taken along line 8—8 ofFIG. 7;

FIG. 9 is a transverse cross-sectional view of the second embodiment ofrunning board storage device of this invention showing such in theretracted position; and

FIG. 10 is a front view of the second embodiment of running boardstorage, device of this invention taken along line 10—10 of FIG. 9.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

Referring particularly to the drawings, there is shown in phantom linesin FIG. 1 a typical land vehicle 20. The land vehicle 20 has anenclosing body or chassis 22. Normally, the body 22 will be constructedof sheet material. Included within the body 22 are a plurality of accessdoors 24. The body 22 is mounted on a frame 26.

Within the first embodiment of this invention shown in FIGS. 1-8, thereis shown mounted on the body 22 a front mounting bracket 28 and a rearmounting bracket 30. The front mounting bracket 28 is fixedly mounted bya plurality of bolts 32 to the body 22. In a similar manner, the rearmounting bracket 30 is fixedly mounted by a series of bolts 34 to thebody 22. The brackets 28 and 30 can each comprise a single elongatedmember or could comprise a plurality of separate members located in aspaced apart manner.

An L-shaped bracket 36 is fixedly mounted by bolt 38 to the frontmounting bracket 28. The L-shaped bracket 36 is then secured by bolt 40to a storage compartment housing 42. The storage compartment housing 42is basically rectangular in configuration and will generally be severalfeet in length and will include a storage compartment 44. Thecompartment 44 will normally be between six to ten inches in height andabout eighteen inches deep. The storage compartment housing 42 isfixedly secured by bolts 46 to the rear mounting bracket 30. Mountedwithin the storage compartment 44, and fixedly secured to the storagecompartment housing 42, is a back wall 48. The back wall 48 extends theentire length of the storage compartment housing 42. Mounted within theback wall 48 are a series of holes with there being shown six in numberof such series of holes. The holes within each series comprise a lowerhole 50, an intermediate hole 52 and an upper hole 54. Each of the holes50, 52 and 54 are internally threaded and capable of threadinglyconnecting with a cantilevered rod 56. The rod 56 is capable of beingthreadably secured within either hole 50, 52 or 54.

There will normally be a rod 56 that will be connected with a hole ofeach series of holes 50, 52 and 54. If the rod 56 is mounted within eachseries of the holes and is located within each lower hole 50, thestorage compartment 44 is then divided between a lower section and anupper section with the lower section being about the same height as theupper section. If the rods 56 are mounted in the holes 52, then thelower section is deeper with the upper section being narrower. If therods 56 are mounted in the holes 54, the upper section becomes almostnon-existent with there being only a lower section. The real purpose forthe holes 50 and 52 is so that when the rods 56 are mounted within oneof the holes 50 and 52 that elongated objects such as skis and pipes canbe placed and supported on the cantilevered rods 56. The cantileveredrods 56 can also be used to function as runners for a drawer 58.

Referring particularly to FIG. 6 of the drawings, it is seen that thereis a plurality of such drawers with three in number of the drawers 58being shown. However, it is to be understood that there could be agreater or lesser number of such drawers. Each drawer 58 has glides 60located on opposite sides of the drawer 58. Each glide 60 has alongitudinal through opening 62 with the rod 56 to be movably locatablewithin each through opening 62. Thus, the drawer 58 is supported on apair of the cantilevered rods 56 with the cantilevered rods 56functioning as drawer runners. This will permit the drawer 58 to begrasped by handle 64 and pulled in an outward direction so as to exposethe internal compartment of the drawer, which is not shown, tofacilitate removal of small storagable articles, which are not shown.The rods 56 may be circular in transverse cross-section as shown inFIGS. 9 and 10 or may have a keyhole shape as is shown in FIGS. 5-8.

The storage compartment housing 42 includes side extensions 66 and 68.Formed on the inner surface of the side extensions 66 is an L-shapedflange 70. Similarly formed on the inside surface of the side extension68 is an L-shaped flange 72. An upper door 74 extends almost the entirelength of the storage compartment 44. The upper door 74 is hingedlyconnected by piano hinge 76 to the storage compartment housing 42.Attached to the storage compartment housing 42 is a V-shaped elongatedmember 78 which extends the entire length of the piano hinge 76. Thepurpose of the member 78 is to catch any rainwater which passes throughthe hinge 76 and prevent the rainwater.from entering into the storagecompartment 44. Any collected rainwater within the member 78 isdischarged at the open ends thereof directly adjacent the sideextensions 66 and 68. The upper door 74 has an upward forwardly facinglip 80 and a lower forwardly facing lip 82. The lips 80 and 82 functionmerely as graspable areas to facilitate opening and closing of the upperdoor 74 about the hinge 76.

At one end of the upper door 74 there is fixedly mounted thereto agusset 84. At the opposite side edge of the upper door 74 there issimilarly mounted a gusset 86. Gussets.84 and 86 each constitute a thinplate which is welded or otherwise integrally formed to the upper door74. Gusset 84 is connected by a pivot rod 88 to a gusset 90. The pivotrod 88 is also pivotally connected to the.gusset 90. It is to beunderstood that there is a similar pivot rod connected to the gusset 86which in turn connects to a separate gusset, which is not shown, similarto gusset 90. The gusset 90 and the similar gusset that is not shown isintegrally connected to a lower door 92. The lower door 92 is hingedlymounted by a hinge rod 94 to the storage compartment housing 42. Theresult is when the upper door 74 is moved from a closed position, shownin FIG. 5, to the open position, shown in FIG. 7, that the lower door 92is also caused to move from the closed position, shown in FIG. 5, to theopen position, shown in FIG. 7. The pivoting of the lower door 92 isopposite in direction to the pivoting of the upper door 74. The resultis that the doors 74 and 92 open and close in a “clamshell” typearrangement. This “clamshell” type arrangement produces a wide frontalentry opening into the storage compartment 44. This wide entry openingfacilitates the insertion of objects into and out of the storagecompartment 44, especially elongated objects such as skis, pipes orrods.

There is a latching mechanism which is utilized to retain the upper door74 and the lower door 92 in the closed position. This latching mechanismis as follows: Formed within the upper door 74 is a rectangularly shapedopening 96. Mounted on the inside surface of the upper door 74 andlocated about the opening 96 is a handle housing 98. Handle housing 98includes a rectangularly shaped recess 100. The handle housing 98includes a hole 102. A handle 104 is mounted within the recess 100 withthe handle 104 being pivotally mounted by pivot rod 106 to the handlehousing 98. The outer surface of the handle 104 is to be located flushwith the outer surface of the upper door 74, as is clearly shown in FIG.3 of the drawings, when the handle 104 is in the inner position. Fixedlymounted to the handle 104 is a plate 108. Plate 108 extends through hole102 to be located within the confines of the storage compartment 44. Theplate 108 has pivotally attached thereto elongated push rods 110 and112. The outer end of push rod 110 passes through hole 114 formed withinthe gusset 84. The outer end of the push rod 110 is pre-chosen so as toextend underneath L-shaped flange 70 and be located directly adjacentside extension 66 when handle 104 is in the non-operating position. Coilspring 116 is mounted between plate 108 and the upper door 74. Thefunction of the coil spring 116 is to tend to maintain the handle 104 inits non-operating position as shown in FIG. 3. The spring 116 is mountedby bolt fastener 117 to the upper door 74.

Elongated push rod 112 is pivotally mounted to pivot bar 118. Pivot bar118 is pivotally mounted by pivot pin 120 to the upper door 74.Pivotally attached to the side of the pivot bar 118, which isdiametrically opposite from the attachment position of push rod 112 tothe pivot bar 118, is an elongated push rod 122. Elongated push rod 122has an outer end which passes through hole 124 formed within gusset 86.The outer end of push rod 122 is adapted to be mounted directlyunderneath L-shaped flange 72 when handle 104 is in the non-operatingposition. The locating of push rod 110 under L-shaped flange 170 andpush rod 122 under L-shaped flange 72 locks the position of the upperdoor 74 in the closed position and also the lower door 92 in its closedposition since the lower door 92 moves only in conjunction with theupper door 74 caused by the pivot rod 88 and the pivot rod which is notshown on the opposite side of the storage compartment 44. When thehandle 104 is pivoted in the direction of arrows 126 and 128 of FIG. 4by manually pushing in the direction of arrow 126 and pulling in thedirection of arrow 128, the plate 108 is pivoted counterclockwise fromthe position shown in FIG. 3 to the position shown in FIG. 4. Thiscauses the push rod 110 to move to the right which displaces the outerend of the push rod 110 from the L-shaped flange 70. Push rod 112 isalso moved to the right which causes the pivot bar 118 to pivotcounterclockwise. This causes the push rod 122 to be moved to the leftdisplacing the outer end of the push rod 122 from the L-shaped flange72. The upper door 74 is now capable of being pivoted to the positionshown in FIG. 7 which will also result in the lower door 92 beingpivoted to its position in FIG. 7.

In order to prevent unauthorized access to within the storagecompartment 44, there is mounted a key operated locking mechanism 130within the upper door 74. The key operated locking mechanism 130 iscapable of being pivoted by means of key 132. The portion of the keyoperated locking mechanism 132 that is located within the storagecompartment 44 includes a pawl 134. This pawl 134 can be pivoted betweena forward position, as shown in FIG. 3, to a rear position as shown inFIG. 4 by operating of the locking mechanism 130. With the pawl 134 inthe rear position as shown in FIG. 4, the pawl 134 is spaced from thepivot bar 118 permitting the pivot bar 118 to freely pivot when handle104 is moved to its operating position. However, if the lockingmechanism 130 is in the locked position, the pawl 134 is pivoted to abutagainst the pivot bar 118. Any attempt to move the handle 104 with thepawl 134 located against the pivot bar 118 will result in the handle 104being not capable of being moved to the operating position and willremain in the position shown in FIG. 3.

Referring particularly to FIGS. 9 and 10, there is shown the secondembodiment 136 of this invention. The second embodiment 136 utilizes afront mounting bracket 138 and a rear mounting bracket 140 each of whichare fixedly mounted to the body 22. The bracket 140 is shown beinglocated directly adjacent to but spaced from the frame 26. It is to benoted that the brackets 138 and 140 are located beneath the body 122.There is a drawer housing 142 which is fixedly mounted to the mountingbrackets 138 and 140. The drawer housing 142 is attached to the rearmounting bracket 140 by means of bolt fasteners 146 and 148. Bracket 138is attached to the body 22 by means of bolt fastener 147. The mountingbracket 140 is fixedly secured to the body 22 by means of bolt fastener150.

Fixedly mounted to the drawer housing 142 is a back wall 152. Mountedwithin the back wall 152 at spaced intervals are a series of threadedholes 154. The threaded holes 154 are located a prescribed distanceapart, generally no more than a couple of feet apart. Within eachthreaded hole 154 is mounted a threaded rod 156. Mounted on each sidewall of a drawer 158 is a drawer glide 160. Each drawer glide 160 ismounted directly adjacent the top edge 162 of the drawer 158. The topedge 162 is designed to be open to provide access to within the internalchamber 164 of the drawer 158. A portion of the top edge 162 is closedby means of a step plate 166. The step plate 166 is located in theforward portion of the drawer 158 which is the portion of the drawer 158that protrudes exteriorly of the side plane 168 of the body 22. Thisstep plate 166 is to function as a step for a human user when enteringand exiting from within the body 22 of the land vehicle 20. In otherwords, when a human exits the body 22, the human will first place his orher feet on the step 136 prior to moving from the step plate 166 to theground and in reverse from the ground to the step plate 166 and theninto the body 22.

Each of the drawer glides 160 constitutes an elongated solid member thathas an elongated through hole which is just slightly larger than thediameter threaded rod 156. Therefore, when a threaded rod 156 is mountedwithin the hole of the drawer glide 160, it is to be understood thatthere is a sliding action that is achieved permitting movement of thedrawer 158 from the retracted position, shown in FIG. 9, to an extendedposition which would be where the drawer 158 is moved significantly tothe left in FIG. 9 exposing the top edge 162 and therefore providingaccess to within the drawer 158 in order to permit entry of articles tobe stored or exit of articles from the drawer 158. In all probability,there will be a plurality of the drawers 158 that will be locatedside-by-side that will form a single running board of the land vehicle20. Each drawer 158 is to be movable to an extended position by a humaninserting his or her hand within handle opening 170 which will thenpermit movement of the drawer 158 from the retracted position to theextended position. Handle opening 170 is formed within a front planarsurface of drawer 158. It is to be noted that the threaded rods 156 arecantileverly supported on the back wall 152.

When the drawer 158 is in the retracted position, it may be desirable tolock the drawer 158 and prevent unauthorized opening movement of thedrawer 158. In order to achieve this, there is mounted a key operatedlocking mechanism 172 which is operated by a key 174 within uprightflange 176 which is integrally formed and located at a right angle tothe step plate 166. There is to be an upright flange 176 for eachlocking mechanism 172 of each drawer 158. The locking mechanism 172connects to a pawl 178 which can be turned to abut against protrusion180 which is integrally connected to the front mounting bracket 138.With the pawl 178 abutting against protrusion 180, the drawer 158 islocked in position and withdrawal of the drawer 158 is prevented. Whenthe key is turned about ninety degrees, the pawl 178 will be moved to adisplaced position from protrusion 180 which will permit the drawer 158to be moved to an extended position providing access to within thedrawer 158.

What is claimed is:
 1. In combination with a land vehicle having a bodyand a set of wheels located at each side of said body, an access doormounted within said body located between each said set of wheels on eachside of said body, a running board mounted on said body and locatedbetween one said set of wheels and located beneath said access door,said running board being to function as a step for a human when enteringand exiting said body, said running board comprising: a drawer having avolume of an internal article storage compartment, said compartmentbeing totally enclosing to protect articles contained within saidcompartment from exterior contamination, said drawer being mounted on adrawer housing which is fixedly mounted on said body, said drawer beingmovable between a retracted position and an extended position, saiddrawer having a top edge, said top edge being openable providing accessinto said compartment, a front portion of said top edge being closed bya step plate, when said drawer is in said retracted position said stepplate of said drawer functions as said step, when said drawer is in saidextended position access is permitted into said internal article storagecompartment and said drawer is not intended to function as said step. 2.The combination as defined in claim 1 wherein: said drawer being mountedon a plurality of cantilevered rods which function as glides for saiddrawer, said cantilevered rods being mounted on said drawer housing.